Senator Martha McSallly

It looks like Arizona will be represented in the Senate by both an aviator and a bloviator. The bloviator will be Kyrsten Sinema, the hippie-dippie elected by Arizona voters last month. The aviator will be Martha McSally a fighter pilot who lost to Sinema in the election.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey today named McSally to fill the seat Senator John Kyl will give up at the end of the year. Kyl had been appointed to fill the seat of John McCain. McSally’s appointment will run through 2020.

McSally isn’t as conservative as I would like, but that’s not my main concern. The focus needs to be on holding this seat in 2020. They key was to give the remaining two years of Kyl’s term to someone who could use that momentum to win the next election.

Is McSally an optimal appointment for that purpose? I’m not convinced. Her race against Sinema was not impressive. I thought Sinema outperformed her in their debate.

McSally ran miles behind Ducey, who won handily. The “aviator vs. bloviator” ad was excellent, but represented the high-water mark of her campaign as far as I can tell.

On the other hand, Gov. Ducey knows infinitely more about Arizona politics and players than I do. Let’s hope he made the right call.